Introduction to the Standard Model, QCD and the Lattice

A brief introduction to Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD) and its relation to the Standard Model (SM) of particle phyics is given. QCD is that part of the Standard Model relevant to the strong interactions. Strongly interacting matter makes up almost the entire mass of the tangible universe, from the protons and neutrons in the nuclei of atoms to the stars themselves. In the low-energy region of most interest, QCD is a strongly interacting theory and not soluble by any analytic means. The first principles, tool-of-choice for studying QCD in the interesting low-energy regime is lattice QCD, which puts space-time on a 4-dimensional lattice or grid. It requires the world's fastest supercomputers to attack this challenging problem.